Case Reports

Case Reports
Categories of
biodegradable hydraulic
oils

Environmentally aware hydraulic oils

Over the past twenty years or
so, there has been an
increasing awareness of the
environmental impact of the
large amount of lubricants
entering the environment. This
comes as the result of leakage,
throw-off, emissions, spillage
and careless disposal of mainly
mineral oil based products.
Some countries in Europe
have even restricted the use of
non-environmental friendly
products and encouraged socalled biodegradable products
in sensitive applications (e.g.
near drinking water).
Although the term
biodegradable has become
widely used and accepted as a
description of the property
required for these ecologically
friendly fluids, it is not sufficient
criterion for complete
environmental acceptability.
Other important considerations
include:

Biodegradability or
persistence in the
environment
Bio-accumulation potential
Toxicity in the air, ground
and water
The nature of the emissions
Whether or not the source is
renewable.

Several countries have now

adopted environmental
acceptability labelling schemes
(or umweltzeichen in German)
for various products.

The various schemes include:

Blue Angel (Germany),

above,
White Swan (Scandinavia).

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In addition to the
environmental sign, the waterpolluting classification in
Germany
(Wassergefhrdungsklasse or
WGK) has also become an
important part of assessing the
environmental impact of
lubricants. The WGK stipulates
what steps should be taken in
case of an oil spill and the
safety measures required for
handling, manufacturing and
storing products. The class is
assigned to a substance
depends on its WKZ water
endangering number (WEN)
which is obtained from toxicity
measurements on mammalian,
fish and bacterial activity. The
higher the number the higher
the toxicity. Three is the
highest rating, zero is the
lowest, even though WGK 0
has now been re-named to
NWG (non water
endangering). The WGK has
become vital for the
marketability of environmentally
acceptable products in
Germany, Scandinavia and
elsewhere in Europe and also
in the rest of the world.

Biodegradable hydraulic
oils
Overall, the biodegradable
lubricants market remains very
small compared to mineral oil
based products. Within the
biodegradable lubricant family,
which includes mainly total
loss lubrication (eg chain saw
oils, mould release oils, wire
rope lubricants, two-stroke
engine oils, etc), hydraulic oils,
which is not total loss, are the
most popular and account for
approximately 70% of the total
market in Europe. Demand for
biodegradable hydraulic oils is
expected to increase in the
next 10 years.
Ever increasing expectations
are put on the performance of
any modern hydraulic oil,
whether synthetic,
conventional mineral or
biodegradable. More compact
designs and the subsequent

According to the ISO 15380

standard (which originates
from the VDMA 24568
specification in Germany),
there are four categories of
biodegradable hydraulic oil.
The rate and degree of

can be compensated by
increased service life and
improved reliability. Although
water should be avoided
where both natural and
synthetic esters are used at
high temperatures to minimise
hydrolytic breakdown, modern
good quality products are
designed to have good
demulsibility to minimise
these effects.

Classification

Description

ExxonMobil Example

HETG

Hydraulic Oil Tri Glyceride

Mobil EAL 224H

HEES

Hydraulic Oil Synthetic Ester

Mobil EAL Syndraulic

Mobil EAL Hydraulic Oil

HEPG

Hydraulic Oil Poly Glygol

HEPR

Hydraulic Oil Mixed

Hydrocarbon/Ester

reduction in the amount of

circulating oil are leading to
ever higher operating
temperatures that put more
emphasis on the fluids thermal
and oxidative stability. Longer
drain intervals are required
between oil changes and
optimal performance is
required over a wider range of
operating temperatures.
In principle, biodegradable
hydraulic oils should meet the
same general performance
characteristics, such as
lubricity, viscosity, flow at hot
and cold temperatures, thermal
and oxidative stability, noncorrosivity and seal
compatibility as mineral oil
based products.
Of the different base fluids
available for hydraulic oils,
mineral oils and synthetic
hydrocarbons are only poorly
biodegradable whereas natural
esters (such as triglyeride
vegetable oils), synthetic esters

(poly- and di-esters) and

glycols of polyethylene oxide
are easily biodegraded.
Natural and synthetic esters
and polyglygols all possess
inherently good lubricity
properties as their polar nature
gives a greater affinity for metal
surfaces than non polar
mineral oils. Consequently the
need for anti-wear additives is
reduced, calling for lower
concentrations of generally
more toxic anti-wear agents.
Pump tests have shown that
rapeseed oil (triglyceride) and
synthetic esters can perform
better than standard anti-wear
mineral oil based products.
This is attributed to the
naturally high VI of the base
fluid but also due to the better
filtrability, cleaner conditions
through better solvency of
residues and improved air
release through the use of
lower viscosities.

biodegradability of Polyalkylene
Glycol based products
depends on the relative
percentage of
ethylene/propylene oxide in the
polymer, the higher proportion
of ethylene oxide being
directionally more
biodegradable. The major
disadvantage of PAG based
products is poor compatibility
with seals, gaskets and linings
and poor miscibility with
standard mineral oils.
Although used in certain niche
applications, polyalkylene
glygol based products are
unlikely to increase their share.
The first generation
biodegradable hydraulic oils
were based on natural esters
(triglyceride). They offer the
advantages of being very
biodegradable, good lubricity
properties all at a relatively low
cost. However as the
technical requirements of
modern hydraulic system
increased, the performance of
poorer quality natural ester
based products has been
found to be wanting,
particularly concerning
oxidation and hydrolytic
stability, low temperature
performance and service life.

Typical applications for

biodegradable hydraulic
oils

Forestry

Construction and cranes

Commercial elevators

Harbour dredging
hydraulically driven screens

Off-shore drilling operations

Snow removal equipment

Heavy duty lawn care

equipment

Earth moving and

excavators

Off-shore wind turbines

Reservoirs

Parkland

Canals and water-ways

Rubbish collection

Landfill operations

Sewage plant

Water treatment

Rock-drill

ExxonMobil
Biodegradable Hydraulic
Oil Product Line
ExxonMobil has an extensive
product line of biodegradable
hydraulic fluids as viable
alternatives to its conventional
hydraulic oils in these highly
niche environmentally-sensitive
applications.
Mobil EAL 224 H was the first
product to be introduced in the
1990s and has been a highly
successful rapeseed oil
product (HETG).
Mobil EAL Hydraulic Oil series,
also based on high
performance synthetic esters,
will be the most recently
introduced product with the
lowest Water Hazard
Classification rating (NWG).

Recommendations when
switching product types
Normally mineral oil based
products and natural and
synthetic esters mix well
together and serious
operational problems should
not be experienced. Any
contamination of course
negatively affects
biodegradability and toxicity.

In service monitoring
To maximise the life of a
biodegradable hydraulic oil in
service, the following
characteristics should be
monitored regularly, with
warning limits:

Viscosity : +10%

Oxidation (TAN) :
+2mg KOH/g

Water content : >500ppm

If you would like to get further

information on this or any other
topic of this issue please
contact
lubes.industrial@exxonmobil.com.

Conversion may be
accomplished by draining the
system completely and then
flushing to reduce residual
mineral oil to a minimum.
Testing compatibility when
changing products is
recommended to check for
foaming, water/air separation
and additive compatibility.

Over the past few years,

synthetic ester based products
have increased their market
share. High VI, excellent
oxidation and thermal stability
and low WGK ratings have all
contributed to this trend. Raw
material cost is higher but this
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